The maker of Spam yesterday agreed to buy the peanut butter brand Skippy from Unilever for $700 million.

Hormel Foods, producer of the processed luncheon meat, said that it had signed a definitive agreement with the Anglo-Dutch group to buy the US’s second biggest peanut butter brand.

Skippy’s annual turnover is about $370 million with nearly $100 million of sales to consumers outside the US. Its biggest market outside the US is China where it is known locally as “Four Seasons Treasure”. In America, Skippy’s sales have grown by 57 per cent since 2006.